Keeping Children Safe

Safeguarding Statement

Great Torrington Bluecoat C of E Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the well-being of children and young people. We expect all governors, staff, students and volunteers to share this responsibility.

The protection of children within our care is our first responsibility and will supersede all other considerations.

Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub

The MASH is the central resource for the whole of Devon receiving all safeguarding and child protection enquiries. It is staffed with professionals from a range of agencies including police, probation, fire, ambulance, health, education and social care. These professionals share information to ensure early identification of potential significant harm, and trigger interventions to prevent further harm.

If you are concerned about a child or young person in Devon and want to speak to someone contact MASH on 0345 155 1071 or email mashsecure@devon.gov.uk and give as much information as you can.

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools, prior to the start of the next school day, when a child or young person has exposed to, or involved in, any domestic incident.

Operation Encompass will ensure that a member of the school staff, known as a Key Adult, is trained to allow them to liaise with the police and to use the information that has been shared, in confidence, while ensuring that the school is able to make provision for possible difficulties experienced by children, or their families, who have been involved in, or exposed to, a domestic abuse incident.

Online Safety

It is our absolute priority at Bluecoat C of E Primary School to keep children safe. As such, we would like to remind all parents and carers of the following information.

Please be aware that all social networking sites and apps have age restrictions. For instance, children should be age 13+ to use Instagram, Musical.ly, Snapchat and YouTube. Further information about age restrictions and risks on popular sites can be found at www.net-aware.org.uk

We have spoken with all of our Chapter 3 children in assembly to remind them of the importance of keeping themselves safe online, and will follow this up with a talk from our local PCSO on the issue. We would urge all parents to be aware of the age restrictions mentioned and the activities their children engage in on all apps.

Specifically, we advise:

* Children should NOT accept friend or follower requests from anyone they do not know on any app or site

* Children should always use the internet / apps in living areas where parents are around to supervise or support

* Children should be encouraged to share with you what they are doing on the internet and to speak up if inappropriate comments or language are used

Please talk to your children about this issue and help them to manage their internet accounts, ensuring their use is appropriate given their age, that any posts are private and any ‘friends’ or ‘followers’ they interact with, including on Xbox games etc. are known friends or family members.

Parental Controls

Parental controls are the names for a group of settings that put you in control of what content your child can see. Combined with privacy settings these can help you protect your children from the things they shouldn’t see or experience online.